Okay, so long story short.

I started my truck wednesday after work and drove home. It started instantly and drove with no problems. after i had been home for about 15 minutes i got back in my truck to head to the store. Truck wouldn't start or crank.

I troubleshooted all the parts and found a dead battery, and a bad alternator, took the battery and Alternator to O'Reilly's and had them checked. Recharged the battery(it still holds its CCA) and replaced the alternator. Tried to start the truck and no dice. everything electrical works but the started did budge. Took the starter out(which was a pain due to the exhaust pipe and the fact that couldn't fit a socket on the top nut). I hooked the starter up to a set of jumper cables from my nissan(which was running) and made sure i grounded the starter to its casing(where the bolts go) and connected the positive to the positive lead. the starter didn't move.

So as near as i can tell my Alternator and my starter both failed me at the same time(or within hours at least). Is there anything that can cause them both to fail at the same time? i was thinking a power surge due to faulty wiring but that's all i could think of. Not completely sure. I figured i just had bad luck.

Good news is ill have the starter tomorrow to get it running again.

Thanks for the help,
Tidife

 

It's not clear what you've done to prove the alternator was actually bad.

 

Ah sorry didn't mention that. I didn't have the tools to check it on hand so i took it to O'Reilly's and had it checked

 

Got it. To answer your question directly, the only things that can take out a battery, alternator, and starter at the same time are bad battery cables, but in that case, there's nothing necessarily wrong with the battery, alternator or starter - they're just prevented from operating properly.

It's either that, or coincidence, or at least one of the things that was "bad" was not really bad. I don't particularly trust test equipment at the parts store, more so because of the folks typically charged with operating it. There's not much that can't be solved at home with a multimeter and a jumper wire. It sounds like you don't have a multimeter. If you have an old truck, you need a multimeter just as much as a set of socket wrenches. Especially in your case where you are fighting electrical issues that are costing you money.

 

Yeah I broke my multimeter somehow. Was a cheap one. Going to have to get a decent replacement. Thanks for the advice